Sealing and exhausting device for containers



F. D. MAHON EY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

FRANK D. MAHONEY BY/aurrwayv( uw ATTORNEYS Sept. 26, 1967 SEALING AND ExHAusTING DEVICE Fon CONTAINERS Filed July 14, 1965 Sept. 26, 1967 F. D. MAHONEY 3,343,701

SEALING AND EXHAUSTING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Filed July 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l INVENTOR. FRANK D. MAHONEY ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,343,701 SEALING AND EXHAUSTING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Frank D. Mahoney, 68 Mulberry Laue, Atherton, Calif. 94025 Filed July 14, 1965, Ser. No. 471,843 6 Claims. (Cl. 21S-52) The present invention relates in general to sealing devices and more particularly to a device which can seal a partially erupted container and displace the pocket of air located above the liquid remaining in the container.

The diculty with the majority of container Stoppers or closure devices on the market today lies in the fact that while the device seals off the mouth of the container from atmosphere there is no provision for exhausting or displacing the pocket of aitexisting above the level of the liquid after a portion of the liquid has been removed from the container. For example, in the case of Wine bottles, when the bottle has been partially emptied the wine remaining in the bottle cannot be kept for any extended period of time without becoming tainted due to the existence of the large air pocket in the bottle above the liquid even though the mouth of the bottle may be tightly sealed with a stopper or cork.

Broadly stated, the present invention, to be described in greater detail below, is directed to a container sealing and exhausting device comprising a main stopper body adapted for location in the aperture of the container, means defining a passageway through the body from outside the container to the interior of the container, an expansible bulb mounted on the body inside the container and sealed to the body so as to be in directed communication with the passageway through the body for inflation of the bulb from outside the container and an exhaust tube extending through the body to a position within the vessel beyond the location at which the expansible bulb contacts the wall of the vessel upon expansion.

Devices have been proposed in the past for providing an inllatable or expansible bulb inside a Vessel or container to exhaust the air contained therein above the level of the dense fluid therein. For example, U.S. Patent Nos. 447,974 and 713,708 disclose bottle stoppers incorporating inflatable bulbs or balloons. It has been discovered that for many types of containers these closing devices are ineffectual because there is no avenue of escape for a good portion of the air sought to be displaced by the balloon. For example, when a balloon of the type illustrated in either of the above-referenced patents is inflated inside a bottle it will typically expand radially outwardly faster than it expands longitudinally so that when the balloon comes in contact with the Wall of the bottle there is an air pocket located between that contact portion and the level of the liquid therebelow. Continual ination of the balloon cannot remove this pocket of air since the pressure of the air in the balloon forcing the balloon into sealing contact with the wall of the bottle is the same or greater than the pressure of the air in the pocket so that the air in the pocket cannot force past this sealing contact. This phenomena is especially true in longnecked wine bottles.

With the present invention the ail. pocket trapped below the balloon as the balloon is inilated and seals against a portion of the bottle is free to pass out of the bottle through the exhaust tube which provides the communition between the air pocket and the exterior of the bottle. Thus, not only can this air pocket be removed to prevent the wine from becoming tainted but also the balloon is more easily inflated since there is no pressurized pocket resisting inilation of the balloon.

The exhaust tube is slidably sealed within a bore through the main body of the bottle stopper for position- 3,343,701 Patented Sept. 26, 1967 ice ing the interior end of the tube immediately above the level of the liquid in the container. In accordance with another aspect of this invention the exterior end of the exhaust tube in the sealing and exhausting device is sealed and an exhaust aperture is provided through the Wall of the tube spaced from the sealed exterior end for permitting the air from within the bottle to escape as the bulb is inflated. When the bulb has been inflated to completely exhaust all of the air immediately above the level of the liquid in the container, the exhaust tube can be slidably inserted further into the bottle so that the exhaust aperture is located within the bore through the bottle stopper and thereby sealed.

The inilating passageway can also be a tube or an integral portion of the stopper itself which may be made of flexible material such as rubber. The inilating tubular portion can be provided with rings or threads formed thereon so that the open end of the bulb or balloon can be sealed to the inflating tube by a sealing cap with similarly formed rings or threads for sealably clamping the open end of the bulb to the inating tube.

In accordance With another aspect of the present invention, a novel sealing structure is provided for maintaining the inated balloon in expanded condition. This sealing structure includes a knob secured to the exterior surface of the stopper and adapted to receive and hold the end of the exterior portion of the inflating tube so that a simple and quick mechanism is provided for sealing the inilating tube to prevent deflation of the bulb when it has been inilated to the desired amount.

In accordance with still another provision of the present invention, the main body of the stopper is provided with a. radially outwardly extending flange portion adapted to engage the exterior surface around the mouth of a container and an engaging cap provided which engages a portion of the main body and is detachably connected to the vessel for holding a surface of the flange in sealing contact with that exterior surface around the container mouth. With this construction, the same sealing device can be utilized to seal small mouth containers such as, for example, fifth wine or liquor bottles using a stopperlike truncated conical sealing surface as well as large mouth bottles such as, for example, one-half gallon and one gallon bottles using an annular sealing surface held to the bottle by a cap and cooperating threads around the bottle mouth.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent when reading the following description and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is an elevational cross-sectional view of a portion of a wine bottle tted with a sealing and exhausting device in accordance with the present invention before inflation of the expansible bulb thereof;

FIG. 2 is an elevational View similar to FIG. 1 showing the bulb partially expanded and illustrating in phantom the completely expanded location for the balloon;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sealing and exhausting apparatus as illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 2 but illustrating the expansible balloon fully expanded, the exhaust tube slidably inserted to its fullest extent into the bottle and the stopper body sealed in the bottle mouth;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view partially in section showing the sealing apparatus in accordance with the present invention mounted on a container with a larger mouth than that shown in FIGS. l, 2 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a portion shown in FIG. 2 taken along line 6 6; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view partially broken away of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

While the sealing and exhausting device in accordance with the present invention can be utilized on a variety of different types of containers, it is particularly well adapted for use on bottles and jugs and 4will be described with reference thereto.

Referring now to the drawings, the sealing device in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated as A for sealing the mouth of a container, vessel or bottle indicated as B and for exhausting the air contained in the region above the level of liquid or dense fluid D such as, for example, wine. FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the use of the invention for sealing a bottle C having a larger mouth C'.

With particular reference to FIGS. l-4, the sealing device includes a main body or stopper portion 11 having a truncated conical sealing surface on the exterior thereof. The body may be of any convenient material such as, for example, rubber or plastic. A-n inflating passageway 12 is provided through the main stopper portion and is deined by an exterior tubular inllating portion 13 preferably integrally formed with the main stopper body and communicating through an inllating first bore 14 therein with the passage within an interior tubular inllating portion 15, again integrally formed with the main stopper portion 11. This interior tubular inllating portion 15 is provided with molded rings or threads 16 thereon for sealing the open end of an expansible bulb or balloon 17 to the tubular portion 1S by means of a captured sealing cap 18 provided with rings or threads cooperating with the rings or threads 16 on the tubular portion 15. An aperture is provided at the interior end 19 of the interior tubular inlating portion 15 located within the bulb or balloon 17 so that the bulb or balloon 17 can be inflated by blowing air into the open end 21 of the exterior tubular inllating portion 13.

A sealing knob 22 is secured to the exterior top surface of the stopper portion 11 projecting therefrom and adapted for cooperative sealing engagement with the open end 21 of the tubular inilating portion 13. After the balloon has been inllated to the desired extent, the open end 21 of the tubular inflating portion 13 can be slidably inserted over the knob 22 in sealing engagement therewith to maintain the balloon in its desired inflated condition.

An exhaust tube 23 is slidably supported and sealed within a second bore 24 in the main stopper portion 11 for positioning the interior end 25 of the tube immediately above the level of the liquid D before the balloon 17 is inflated. The exterior end 26 of the tube 25 is sealed closed and an exhaust aperture 27 provided in the wall of the tube 23 spaced from the sealed exterior end 26 so that the exhaust tube may be completely sealed after the balloon is inflated in a manner described in greater detail below. The length of the exhaust tube 23 is such that the exhaust tube can be slidably inserted into the bottle B ywith the interior end immediately above the level of the liquid near the very bottom of the bottle B and still with the exhaust aperture 27 positioned outside the second bore 24 of the main stopper portion 11.

The sealing and exhausting device is operated as follows: First, the assembly with the bulb deflated is inserted into the bottle B with the stopper body seated but not sealed at the mouth B. Next the exhaust tube 23 is slidably positioned in the bore 24 to locate the interior end 25 immediately above the level of the liquid D in the bottom of the bott-le. Then by blowing air into the exterior inflating end 21 of the passageway 12 the balloon is inflated until it reaches a position indicated in FIG. 4. During inflation the air in the pocket located below the balloon but above the level of the liquid D is forced out of the bottle via the exhaust tube and is vented through the exhaust aperture 27. The balloon may actually be inated until liquid is forced up the exhaust tube to the exhaust aperture 27. At this point the exterior tubular inilating portion 13 is squeezed to prevent escape of air from the balloon and the exterior inflating end 21 thereof tted over the knob 22 to seal the access into the balloon. The exhaust tube 2,3 is then slidably pushed into the bore 24 in the stopper until the exhaust aperture 27 is located within the bore 24 and sealed therein. Until this point the stopper 11 has been loosely positioned in the mouth B' of the bottle B to permit air above the balloon to be forced out of the bottle during expansion of the balloon so that the stopper can then be tightly pressed into the mouth of the bottle to seal the mouth of the bottle after the balloon has been expanded and the exhaust tube pressed into the bottle.

In order for the sealing and inllating device to be useful for containers having different sized mouths, the stopper body 11 is provided with a radially outwardly extending ange portion 29 which can be engaged as illustrated in FIG. 5 by a cup-shaped cap 31 provided with an aperture 32 in its base to pass over the protruding tubular inflating portion 13, knob 22 and exhaust tube 23. The sides of the cap 31 are provided with threads 33 for cooperating with threads on the exterior portion of the mouth C ofthe container C for holding the stopper against the container with the lower surface 34 of the ange portion 29 engaging the surface of the container surrounding the mouth thereof. With this construction the same stopper assembly can be utilized to seal small mouth bottles such as fifth and quart bottles as 'well as large mouth bottles such as half-gallon and gallon bottles.

While the passageway 12 for iniiating the balloon 17 has been described as formed of members integral with the main stopper body, this passageway can be delined by a tubular member extending through a bore in the stopper body similar to the manner in which the exhaust tube 23 is supported and sealed in the stopper body.

Also, while the sealing device has been described for sealing of the stopper -body in the mouth of the bottle, it is obvious that if the bulb or balloon is suiliciently pliable to conform completely to the shape of the exhaust tube and create a seal around the exhaust tube the liquid below the balloon will be completely sealed from atmosphere without the necessity for a seal at the mouth of the bottle.

An alternative construction for sealing the exterior inating end of the tubular inflating portion is illustrated in FIG. 7. As illustrated, the sealing knob 22 can be provided With an inwardly extending annular recess so that the tubular inilating portion provided with a flexible end 21' shaped for fitting in the recess can be positively sealed to the knob 22 by sliding a clamping sleeve 20 over the end 21'.

As previously pointed out, the sealing and exhausting device can be used for a variety of containers and substances. For example, the device in accordance with this invention can be utilized to exhaust the air above the level of paint in a partially empty paint can. The sealing and exhausting device can be designed to close the top of the paint can, or the same size device as utilized for a wine bottle can be inserted through a hole punctured in the top of the can and inflated in the same manner as described above.

` Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by Way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modiiications may be practiced within the spirit of the invention as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A vessel sealing and exhausting apparatus comprising: a main body adapted for location in an aperture in the vessel; means defining a passageway from the portion of said body at the exterior of said vessel to a portion of said body within said vessel when said body is located in said aperture; an expansible bulb; means for sealing said bulb to said body in direct communication with said passageway and located within said vessel when said body is located in said aperture; and an exhaust tube slidably extending through said body at a location spaced from said passageway with the portion of said tube extending within the vessel beyond said body being open only at the inner end thereof and slidable to place said inner end at a position within said vessel beyond the location at which said expansible blub contacts the walls of said Vessel upon expansion.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 characterized further in that said exhaust tube is sealed closed at its exterior end located outside said vessel and is provided with an exhaust aperture spaced lfrom said sealed exterior end along the lentgh of said tube at a location such that when said exhaust tube is moved to place the inner end substantially at the bottom of the vessel said exhaust aperture is positioned within said body and sealed within.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 characterized further in that said main body when located in the aperture in the vessel is provided with a sealing knob therein outside said vessel and the exterior end of said inlet passageway is adapted for sealing engagement with said knob to maintain said expansible bulb in expanded condition.

4. A vessel sealing and exhausting apparatus cornprising: a main body adapted for locatie-n in an aperture in the vessel; means for sealing said main body to said vessel to seal the aperture closed; means delining a passageway from the portion of said body at the exterior of said vessel to a portion of said body within said vessel when said body is located in said aperture; an expansible bulb sealed to said body in direct communication with said passageway and located within said vessel when said body is located in said aperture; a sealing knob secured to said main body outside said vessel and adapted to seal the exterior end of said passageway to maintain said expansible bulb in expanded condition; said main body provided with a bore therein spaced from said passageway and extending from the exterior of said vessel to the interior of said vessel when said body is located in said aperture; an exhaust tube slidably supported within said bore in sealing engagement with said body with the portion of the tube extending within the vessel beyond said body being open only at the inner end thereof and slidabie to place said inner end at a position within said vessel beyond the location at which said expansible bulb contacts the wall of said vessel upon expansion.

5. Apparatus for sealing the mouth of a container and exhausting air from said container above the level of a dense iiuid therein comprising: a stopper body having a tapered outside surface in the form of a truncated cone for location within the mouth of the container; means defining a passageway open at its end and extending from the portion of said stopper body at the exterior of said vessel to a portion of said stopper body within said vessel when said body is located in said mouth, said means including a first bore through the stopper body, an exterior tubular inilating portion sealed to said body in communication with said first bore, and an interior tubular inating portion sealed to said body in communication with said rst bore; an expansible bulb; means for sealing said bulb to said interior tubular inflating portion whereby said bulb can be inated by air passed through the rst bore in said stopper body from said exterior tubular iniiating portion to said interior tubular inilating portion and into said bulb; means for sealing the exterior end of said exterior tubular inflating portion to maintain said bulb in expanded condition as desired; said stopper body having a second bore spaced from said iirst bore; an exhaust tube slidably supported in said second bore in sealing engagement with said body with the portion of the tube extending within the vessel beyond said body being open only at the interior end thereof whereby said exhaust tube can be moved to position its interior end immediately above the level o'f the dense fluid contained within the said container, said exhaust tube sealed closed at its exterior end and provided with an exhaust aperture spaced from said sealed exterior end whereby said exhaust tube can be slidably moved in said second bore to locate said exhaust aperture within said second bore thereby to seal said aperture closed.

6. The device in accordance with claim 5 characterized further in that said sealing means includes a sealing knob secured to said stopper body outside said container, the exterior end of said exterior tubular inating portion adapted for sealing engagement with said knob to maintain said expansible bulb in expanded condition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,063,430 12/ 1936 Graser 22085 2,115,035 4/1938 Morgan 215-52 2,944,703 7/ 1960 Womack Z22-386.5

2,999,500 9/ 1961 Schurer 220-85 3,072,296 1/ 1963 Isreeli 222-3 86.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,173,782 3/ 1959 France.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A VESSEL SEALING AND EXHAUSTING APPARATUS COMPRISING: A MAIN BODY ADAPTED FOR LOCATION IN AN APERTURE IN THE VESSEL; MEANS DEFINING A PASSAGEWAY FROM THE PORTION OF SAID BODY AT THE EXTERIOR OF SAID VESSEL TO A PORTION OF SAID BODY WITHIN SAID VESSEL WHEN SAID BODY IS LOCATED IN SAID APERTURE; AN EXPANSIBLE BULB; MEANS FOR SEALING SAID BULB TO SAID BODY IN DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH SAID PASSAGEWAY AND LOCATED WITHIN SAID VESSEL WHEN SAID BODY IS LOCATED IN SAID APERTURE; AND AN EXHAUST TUBE SLIDABLY EXTENDING THROUGH SAID BODY AT A LOCATION SPACED FROM SAID PASSAGEWAY WITH THE PORTION OF SAID TUBE EXTENDING WITHIN THE VESSEL BEYOND SAID BODY BEING OPEN ONLY AT THE INNER END THEREOF AND SLIDABLE TO PLACE SAID INNER END AT A POSITION WITHIN SAID VESSEL BEYOND THE LOCATION AT WHICH SAID EXPANSIBLE BULB CONTACTS THE WALLS OF SAID VESSEL UPON EXPANSION. 